home theater with pc or Use of av receiver

[jeevanreddy58]

Hi Friends,

i am new to this..
i have pc and i would like to connect very good 5.1 to my PC.

do i really need av receiver for my pc use.. bcaz i listen/watch songs/movies using PC.. to get the good quality out of my pc as well as speakers , what should i do? ( Sound card , amplifier , speakers 5.1 ) Budget would be around 40 thousand indian rupees( i already have the PC)

Thanks in advance
-- Jeevan | Hyderabad

 

[sam9s]

To connect to PC, different multimedia 5.1 computer speaks are there, like from logitech, which have inbuild amp.

AVR is used when you want to connect separate set of speakers to make complete 5.1 OR if you plan to connect an HTiB via your computer. Plus you usually have 3,4 different sources that you want to use with your HT speakers.

Different need different approch.

 

[spirovious]

If you plan to get AV receiver with 5.1 speakers,then this is the way to go-
http://www.hifivision.com/home-thea...49996-how-bitstream-hd-audio-htpc-laptop.html

If you want to use only 5.1 speaker like suggested,then try this way-
http://www.hifivision.com/home-thea...ng-lossless-hd-audio-5-1analoge-out-htpc.html

 

[jeevanreddy58]

Thank you.. given info is useful..

and you have given software settings to get hd audio,,

but how can i improve my audio experiance from PC..

1)Any particular sound card you prefer?
2) i don't know how well 5.1 company speakers set perform when compared to hybrid 5.1 speakers. do you have any idea how it will be if i use subwoofer from one brand , speakers from 1 brand.. so on..

Thanks in advance,
--Jeevan

 

[spirovious]

I have D2X card.Its good for movies.Still I prefer a dedicated HT setup.With AVR,you get more settings.If budget permits,go for AVR + speakers.

 

[jeevanreddy58]

But i would like use it for pc... i don;t think that we can use av r with pc.. what do you say?

 

[arunsankar]

But i would like use it for pc... i don;t think that we can use av r with pc.. what do you say?

AVR can be very much used for PC. Hook it up through the HDMI out from PC. I have a HTPC, Cable STB and a bluray player hooked up through my AVR.

 

[jeevanreddy58]

but does it really matters if i use avr for my pc.. i mean does sound gets better if i use av receiver with PC ?

 

[spirovious]

But i would like use it for pc... i don;t think that we can use av r with pc.. what do you say?

I have been using PC(HTPC)for long time.If AVR has good DA converter,it will sound better.Even for movies,AVR processing will be better and easier.

 

[zhengfucaigo]

right,Hook it up through the HDMI out from PC. I have a HTPC, Cable STB and a bluray player hooked up through my AVR. thanks

 

[jeevanreddy58]

hi sandy,

i am not looking for Blu ray's as i do not use dvd player.. i will download the BRRIPS in PC...
so if possible can you give me the details of sound card , amplifier and 5.1 speakers for my PC..

 

[arunsankar]

The fun part was we gave a htpc setup to a client in just 3 days he got 400 Blu Ray movies all in 720p and 1080p formats. He watched them over a year each day a movie and active downloads happening everyday. He said he didnt even spend a rupee to rent a blu ray or buy them. If he might have rented it by the time he might have spent as much as the system cost just for renting the blu rays.

Actually most of my customers are sharing these contents by themselves saving alot of money and also getting the best sound quality aswell.

Could you please share the details of the sound card and the speakers you gave to your client? Because am using a Creative S750 which is supposed to be THX certified on my PJ HTPC and an Onkyo HT-S3400 back in my parent's place. For me, the AVR set up gives much much better and richer SQ.

 

[spirovious]

my suggestion is to go with PC with ultimate sound card and then use a high quality Multichannel amplifier with high resolution speakers and you are done.

In that case there is no chance for small budgets when you use quality components.Mid-end AVR setup can fill the needs of average listeners.With Audyssey in AVR,room correction is done easily.I have tried both options.Xonar D2X with Rotel multichannel amp,but for movies Yamaha RX-V667 is doing good job.
You really need to have hi-end PC setup to get best out of PC.

 

[vasishta.sushant]

If you look at the manually tuned system then you will never like the Audyssey room correction. There are very few pros who can actually tune the system that way. The problem with the automatic room correction system is its not symmetric. Whatever the value it sees at the listening position it just increases or reduces the gain and delay but believe me when some sound engineer tunes your system manually it sound completely different...

Tell you what, most of the living rooms, in practical sense are not symmetric and that's exactly the reason why the room correction/optimization is needed. Of course the inbuilt correction mechanisms in the AVRs (YPAO/Audessey Multi XT etc) are no match to the manual correction using calibrated Mics and RTAs. The thing to note here is that a decent calibration system itself will cost more than twice that of a decent AVR.

 

[jeevanreddy58]

i don't know what to say..

i am new to forums.. when ever i type something related to home theater , it is related to AVR in any forum.. but you are saying nothing in AVR.. and you are saying it is degrading the quality..

Can someone jump here and explain..

which one is better..

with AVR or without...
by giving ur home theater configuration.. please briefly explain..


Thanks in advance..
--Jeevan

 

[vasishta.sushant]

How about doing the comparison by keeping a fixed budget in mind? A 60K AVR would any way sound like $hit in front of 3L separates. That argument is terribly flawed I say.

 

[spirovious]

Pre-power combo is certainly better than AVR. Why,it has a dedicated pre-amp which is supposed to have very good DAC. Also the multi ch power amp which is superior in terms of wattage.The AVR amp has limitations to drive heavy/power demanding speakers.So why not for everyone,the price factor.I have heard Marantz pre-power at one FM house and liked very much.But the price factor matters.

Now why PC system,soundcard like D2X has better DACs and also adding power amp can drive speakers better than AVR. Still it needs system matching, very accurate calibration.
Also you may need a dedicated pre-amp and volume control.PC volume can be controlled by remote(I do),still sudden gain and chances are that you turn on power amp without keeping PC volume low and can damage speakers.Also we have to be dependent on software to decode audio as soundcard cant.One has to decode it and send as LPCM to soundcard which does DA conversion.Also D2X is not licensed for HD audio as it will downscale the sample rate.I found one solution and posted it in one of my threads.
With PC,there is chance that you can accidentally loose your audio settings.
In my case I tried all options including connecting Yamaha 667 as a power amp,but finally settled with Yamaha AVR only.I found it handy and doing good job with movies.

 

[spirovious]

If you use a Multi channel amp that will be great so thats why we came up with a solution regarding the settings that if we have volume controls for the multi channel amp that solves your problem.

Its not only that.With different movies,dynamic level we need to change the settings.In AVR we can do it easily with remote.PC is not very handy.Again speaker level setting in AVR is very easy with test tones. Soundcard do have test tone,but you cannot adjust level simply sitting at viewing positions.You need 2 persons to do it.Test tone in soundcard does not stop for single channel(in D2X).Its not a signal but vocals.Before you realize the level,next speaker signal is generated.I am not saying PC is bad idea,but not handy for most of end user who simply want to power on and enjoy system immediately.Also a good budget is needed.You need good pc(15K with good power supply)add a soundcard (9K).Many have a cheap pre-amp option like Emotiva and add poweramp.Since I have tried all options,I can say that.

 

[spirovious]

we generally use a tone generator that does all our job.

Regarding setting that if you use LPCM you might end up for the HD Issues as your Digital to analog conversion is happening on your receiver again.

But if you use the analog out from the card there is no need for the user to setup any settings as we use XBMC which automatically detects the format and gives the output. till now there was no situation to do the setting individually for each movie. Its much more easier than what I thought. Regarding the remote I use it on Mobile and clients use tablets to control and browse all the content.

Technically there is no issue whenever I Bitstream or send as LPCM from HTPC to my AVR.But usually software may down samples HD audio automatically when you use D2X as a license issue(PAP).
http://www.avsforum.com/t/1411942/dts-ma-truhd-to-a-mulitch-receiver-without-truehd-dtsma-support
Post 12
Some cards may support like xonal HDAV.
Xonar HDAV1.3 Deluxe: Asus HTPC sound card does Everything | silentpcreview.com

 

[jeevanreddy58]

will the audio quality degraded if we use multiple(obvisouly one will be in AV receiver, and if we use extra one) amplifiers for sound..???